Pete Hoekstra Fundraising Drops After Offensive Super Bowl Ad

Michigan Republican Senate candidate Pete Hoekstra took a pounding in the polls after running that Super Bowl ad of an Asian woman speaking broken English. It doesn't appear to have done much for his campaign fundraising, either.

Hoekstra raised $983,085 in the last quarter of 2011. According to the numbers he touted today on Facebook, his pace dropped off a bit, and he raised $700,000 in the first quarter of 2012.

Hoekstra put a bright face on the number, though. "Big thanks to all of our great supporters who helped us receive more individual donations this quarter than any other quarter -- approximately 5400 contributions! We increased our cash on hand, raised $700K, and are on path to defeating Debbie Stabenow," he wrote on Facebook.

Earlier Friday, Hoekstra ran into trouble by calling the Fair Pay Act, aimed at improving women's pay, a "nuisance." That may or may not hurt his fundraising in the second quarter, but it will likely help his opponent, Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.).

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated the amount of money raised by the Hoekstra campaign in the final quarter of 2011. The corrected total has been added.

Earlier on HuffPost:

Comments

[Yvette67]

10:44 PM on 04/15/2012

I wonder how Pete Hoekstra would respond, if a political opponent’s advertising were about an accented Dutchman, with a windmill in the background, boasting about taking jobs away from the USA. The GOP is totally oblivious to anything that is not a rich white male.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pete_Hoekstra

[datenutloaf]

06:56 PM on 04/15/2012

Tea-freakin'-hee..........

[No Dogma Freedom]

06:47 PM on 04/15/2012

These people are perverse! All of them! I have not heard such contempt and outright malice and the like since Hitler's time!

The Zealots and the like - are really militant - vicious people. Pure unadulterated Thugs and worse!

[1differentdrummer]

03:36 PM on 04/15/2012

And this is the R party's best? Read what he has said, it's instructive. He's the tool of big money from Grand Rapids, he hasn't ever represented the people.

[dmm1047]

03:26 PM on 04/15/2012

A real garbage collector.

[Tom Sito]

03:00 PM on 04/15/2012

Hoekstra should get a salary from Stabenow's campaign for doing such good work destroying his own campaign in the press.

[The ORF in Largo]

02:36 PM on 04/15/2012

Pete Hoekstra and Michelle Bachmann are living proof that being on the Intelligence Committee
doesn't require intelligence nor does in impart any on its members.MI voters should be smart
enough to decide they've seem enough of Hoekstra in government

[Moomin 80]

01:59 PM on 04/15/2012

Wait..shouldn't Hoesktra be directing his ad at Mitt Romney? He loved shipping jobs to China whilst at Bain Capital. Is this the GOP projecting again?

[RonP58]

01:29 PM on 04/15/2012

Political Pete......see what happens when you use offensive and abusive stereotypes to further your narrow, divisive, Fascist TeaPublican agenda.....

.........you get wonked on the head with it.........

......it's called KHARMA.....and it's coming around...in BUCKETS..........

[39air1]

12:39 PM on 04/15/2012

It's outrageous legislature are holding women's rights hostage in order to promote their own divisive social agenda.
Women should be allowed to make their own decisions.
Repugnant republicans legislation attacking women's equal pay ,health and other women's issues.

[Puller58]

11:39 AM on 04/15/2012

Oh, let the boy dream...

[builderman55]

11:13 AM on 04/15/2012

If we ever need to search for silver linings, the time is now. With all the hatred, bigotry, divisiveness, distortion being spewed by the GOP, I do see a silver lining: People like Hoekstra are being held to account for over-the-top appeals to people's worst instincts. The worst news we could get right now would be that people are buying the filth being spewed by right wing haters.. Obama in November will be the final nail in their coffin...

[builderman55]

11:01 AM on 04/15/2012

GOP: All Hate AllThe Time..

[Steve Rockett]

10:51 AM on 04/15/2012

Come on Michigan, there must be more racism and hatred of women there. Certainly they are rich. No? Amazing how many republican candidates are creating democrats and independents.

[wolfml1]

10:40 AM on 04/15/2012

His philosophy is women are just there to be used, another Republican who loves Women